Black Cuban, Black American: A Memoir (Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage)

Rating:
Summary: Lively, superbly written and presented autobiography
Review: Black Cuban, Black American is the informative and engaging memoir of Evelio Grillo's life growing up in Ybor City (now part of Tampa, Florida). Evelio experienced the complexities and difficulties of life in a horse-and-buggy society demarcated by both racial and linguistic lines. Evelio goes on to reveal how he was absorbed into the African-American community as he grew to adulthood during the Great Depression. He then relates his experiences as a solider in an all-black unit serving in the China-Burma-India theater of operations during World War II. This lively, informative, superbly written and presented autobiography is enhanced with an eight-page photo insert.